The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a part of the World Bank Group which invests money in projects involving private companies. It openly promotes privatisation in many sectors. Recent activity invcludes:
- in Haiti, the IFC invested money in two projects. The first, which it called ' HELP - Haiti Emergency Loan Program', consisted of $35m. in loans to private companies operating in textile manufacturing, beer and soft drinks, the financial sector, agriculture, and a private power station owned by a Korean company, KEPCO. The second is a $7.5million loan to help finance 'a 132 room business hotel and conference center with 1,200 m2 of shopping space, three restaurants and a lounge bar on 3 acres of prime land in Pétion-Ville, an upscale, business-oriented suburb of Port-au-Prince'
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/frmshowview?openform&view=ByCo...
- the IFC invests some money directly in the USA, for example in WaterHealth International (WHI), a company which aims to sell water treatment equipment to rural and peri-urban areas in India. The IFC is investing $20-25million to help with the marketing, to: 'Establish viability of the distributed water service business model and help expand the business to new geographies'. WHI is 40% owned by Dow Venture Capital, a part of the Dow Chemical group, the second-largest chemical company in the world, which also owns Union Carbide, the company responsible for the Bhopal disaster.
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/frmshowview?openform&view=ByCo...
- in Uganda, the IFC is a key investor in privatised electricity companies. It has invested $100m. in the Bujagali hydro-electric scheme, which the IFC has consistently promoted despite great controversy and opposition. Bujagali is majority owned by the multinational Sithe. The IFC also became a part-owner of the privatised electricity distribution company, Umeme, which is majority-owned by a UK private equity fund, Actis, and has been heavily critiicised in Uganda.
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/frmshowview?openform&view=ByCo...
The IFC has been repeatedly criticised for its negative effect on public services in Africa, especially in healthcare. It has openly criticised Kenyan government policy on electricity simply because it involves partial renationalisation of failed privatisations.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-564820
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-09/kenya-power-s-share-plan-mea...